DID a routine Facebook check one morning last week over breakfast.

Nothing atypical: My friend - an actual one - added the Free Hug application. I stifled a yawn and tagged a photo to make it appear on an ex-classmate's profile.

Then something happened that made me lose my grip on my cereal spoon - and it was not a 'poke'.

I had received a 'friend' request - from my mum!

This was followed by an instant message window which popped up on my screen to 'force-feed' me a command.

'Be my friend', it said.

'Really weird lah,' I replied.

'Why?' my mum typed.

I disconnected.

I understand how parents want to reach out to their children, but as a young adult, the proposition of friendship from a parent is also an invitation to level the playing field.

I felt chills down my spine.

According to Facebook statistics, from April last year to the same month this year, the number of visitors to the site increased across all age groups.

The 45-to-54 and 55-to-64 age categories went up by 63 per cent and 83 per cent respectively.

However, the 18-to-24 age category increased by only 30 per cent.

It seems then, our parents are now invading our turf.

Or at least trying to.

A teen lamented on a forum that when Gwen Stefani's hit song Hollaback Girl came on, her dad sang - while bobbing his head up and down - 'I ain't no Harlem black girl'.

My dad too attempted something similar with Will Smith's 1998 hit Gettin' Jiggy Wit It.

It is a disturbing memory.

In the past, most parents would come in this package: They said 'no' as a default, delayed their kids' gratification and meted out punishment.

Lately, my mother has veered away from this familiar protocol to a more 'democratic' parent-child approach.

It seems to me to be largely about power-sharing and negotiating when conflicts arise.

But it can be tough to strike a balance: In the same breath as we discuss the workings of our relationship over a glass of port, she would nag me to clean up my room.

She wants me 'to be her friend', yet sometimes I find her telling me not to treat her as an equal.

It will take some getting used to.

But who knows? One day she might even become my best friend - not just one on Facebook.

With this thought, I clicked on the 'accept' button.

Is this article useful to you?